Hi! This is Bawon Samdi here and, for this new installment of The Signal, let's talk money!

The Batman Miniatures Game from Knight Models uses a double system to recruit characters into your band : Reputation and Funding. The former is a common army points system you can find in many games. The latter needs more explanations.

Cash Flow

First things first, how much money do you have to play with? The quick answer is usually not enough. The longer answer requires you to set up Reputation limit of the game you want to play and then to apply this formula. You gain $500 of Funding for every 150 Reputation points of band size, even if it's incomplete.

Don't worry, I did the math for you:

• 150 Reputation game, each player get $500
• 200 Reputation game, each player get $1,000
• 300 Reputation game, each player get $1,000
• 350 Reputation game, each player get $1,500

Now, let's see what you can do with this, ahem, honestly gained cash.

Guns For Hire

The first obvious use of Funding is to recruit character with a Funding cost listed on their profile. Players used to Infinity will find a well known system here. Any character costs Reputation points but characters with special weapons and equipment also have a secondary recruiting cost.

For example recruiting Mr Freeze will cost you both 75 Reputation points and $500. He is not cheap but for that price he comes with a fully loaded freeze gun, grenades and shiny power armor!

Fun fact for you here. Most Leaders who possess costly equipment (Oliver Queen's Bow & Arrows, Two Face's Tommy Gun) do not have any Funding cost. A distinctive advantage over other kind of characters to keep in mind when you build your list!

Still, it's hard to have a combined dollar cost that matches your Funding. Most of the time, once recruiting is done, there is some money left which lead us to the second use of Funding.

I'd Buy That For A Dollar

The tricky part is that money unspent on expensive characters can be used to buy extra gear and the list of available equipment will depend on which band you are playing with. You can use Funding in very different ways spending it on ammo, close combat weapons, healing, and even strategic & tactical advantages...

There are some rules to follow:-

• Each band has its own list of available gear and you can't pick items from another band's list
• Only henchmen can benefit from this additional gear, other type of characters can't
• There is a limited number of times the same item can be picked

When it comes to buying equipment keep a few things in mind like possible synergies between your henchmen and the rest of the band, weak spots that need to be strengthened and exclusive gear. It's not something you buy just because you have some pocket change, it must be integrated in your strategy and list building.

Do you want to remake the opening scene of The Dark Knight with those not so funny clowns during a bank robbery? Well, play the Joker's band and buy grappling hooks ($300 each). Some of your henchmen will be able to jump from building to building and this will help compensate for something often lacking in a Joker band, mobility. Your henchmen may also wear their creepiest Clown Paintings ($150 each)!

On another hand, a band built around Green Arrow can do some serious ranged damages but only if opponents can be seen. To solve this problem give flashlights ($100 each) to your henchmen which then brighten the area and offer a target rich environment for your sharpshooters!

Go To Jail. Do Not Collect $200

Now it's time to put into practice everything we have learnt so far with a 300 Reputation / $1,000 Batman crew...

Batman (Arkham City) 130 / $0
Nightwing 85 / $0
SWAT Member Alpha 38 / $500 + Handcuffs ($200)
Agent O'Connel 29 + Flashlight ($100)
Policeman with baton 16 + Whistle ($200)

Total: 298 Reptutation points, $1,000 worth of gear and weapons

1/ Strengthening
Both Batman and Nightwing can deal a lot of Stun damage, effectively knocking out any opponent. The issue here however is that knocked out character may eventually recover and come back into the game. Since Batman doesn't kill, the only other option left is to send a henchman with the Arrest ability to deal with knocked out characters. O'Connel and the Policeman already have this special ability written down on their profile and by buying Handcuffs, the SWAT member has it too.

2/ Synergy
The SWAT member has a shooting weapon with a 40cm range but he is still limited by the 30cm line of sight rule. By giving an additional flashlight to O'Connel (the other Policeman already has a flashlight) both henchmen will be able to extend the effective firing range of their colleague's weapon.

3/ Exclusive Gear
The Whistle gives the 'Stop!' special ability. A very powerful tool available to few bands.

So, which kind of mastermind are you? Do you prefer to recruit major players or to spoil your henchmen?

Bawon Samdi

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